Bernard, 88, told the Manchester Evening News: “It makes me feel very sad and angry. To come here and find it like this, it is diabolical. For any graveyard, this type of thing should never happen.”

Greater Manchester’s police and crime commissioner Tony Lloyd condemned the attack, which is believed to have taken place sometime between 4pm on June 22 and 3.30pm the following day, as ‘incomprehensible’.

He said: “The desecration of any grave goes against all of the values of decency that our society is based on. It is a violation which has been motivated by hatred; it is the ultimate act of disrespect.”